Five reasons why you should come on a campus tour
Touring a school is the closest an applicant can get to understanding what it would be like to live on that university campus as an student. Campus tours hold a wealth of information, especially when done from a student’s perspective. You learn about all of the major buildings, tips and tricks from a current student and the resources available to matriculated students.
There are so many pros to attending a university campus tour, but here are our top five reasons why you should try your best to come on a campus tour before becoming a first year student.
1. The opportunity to meet an actual admissions counselor. Though you have other ways of communication with the admissions team, one can usually get more information out of a face a face interaction. Getting to meet a counselor gives you the opportunity for one on one interaction and a more personalized admissions process because you can get your very specific questions answered in real time.
2. Getting specific! A lot of the time not only do you get the benefit of a university counselor at the campus tour, but also current students who work in admissions. A lot of schools have admissions ambassadors, who have a range of majors, interests and backgrounds. Speaking with them about their experiences can sometimes be more helpful than a conversation with a counselor because they have lived in experiences to share and can sometimes be more candid.
3. Finding the right fit! College campus tours help you gauge your own interest. You may have a preconceived notion about what the campus would look like, what the students would be like and how the environment will make you feel, but the only way to be certain is to get on campus. Meeting students and being in the environment is the only true way you can understand if this school is the right culture fit for your university experience.
4. Shadowing Classes! A lot of universities allow applicants to shadow certain classes on campus. Sometimes the universities put the lists of classes online, but a lot of the time the full list in only available at the school’s welcome center on campus. After or before a campus tour during the regular academic year a student usually has the option of going to a class of their choice. Use this time to see if you like the design of the buildings, the teaching styles of the professors and the engagement in the classroom.
5. A more detailed tour. Once you get to the university’s welcome center you will get to ask all the questions you would want about the university. A lot of the time-specific schools or majors within the university have school or major specific tours as well. This will give you more information about the major you think you would want to pursue and allow you to meet some of your potential future professors and classmates.
That being said every university counselor understands that not every student can afford to attend college campus visits. If that is your situation make sure you are still being proactive. Look online for when a university representative will be in your area or call the undergraduate admissions line at the school of your choice. Closer to the application period, which usually starts in November and ends in January, university counselors start to make the rounds to specific schools that they know have expressed interest in their university. This is a great way to not only get to speak to a representative of the university but also meet your regional counselor, who usually is the first person to read your application.
In addition, counselors do not consider whether a student attended a university session or not, but if you do attend any university session it is a great way to stay in the loop about upcoming applicant events. Getting your name on a specific university’s mailing list ensures that you won’t miss application deadlines or resources provided by the university. The school usually uses the list to stay in contact with students that might have an interest in attending, which can only help you if you realize after the school visit that this university is the one for you!
Danielle is a content contributor at Mascot. She studied Business & Political Economy at NYU and worked as an undergraduate admissions ambassador for four years.
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